3of 4Stephen Curry during a game against the Washington Wizards on February 28, 2018 in Washington, DC.Photo: Patrick Smith, Getty Images

4of 4Steve Nash might provide the best parallel to Stephen Curry, as another 6-foot-3 guard who blended great ball-handling and extraordinary outside shooting into an elite package.Photo: Danny Moloshok, AP

Steve Nash might provide the best parallel to Stephen Curry, as another 6-foot-3 guard who blended great ball-handling and extraordinary outside shooting into an elite package.

Here’s a good omen for Curry: Nash earned MVP honors at ages 31 and 32 and made his final All-Star Game appearance at 38. Nash also works as a Warriors consultant, so he’s a logical sounding board for Curry.

“Father Time is going to win eventually, but you’re trying to delay it as long as possible,” Nash said. “Steph’s battle is against his body.”

Nash extended his career by working with Rick Celebrini, a former soccer player and acclaimed physiotherapist from Nash’s native Canada. Celebrini taught Nash proper movement, focusing on balance and agility more than sheer strength.

Nash also aggressively managed his diet and sleep. He regularly spent 15 minutes in 58-degree ice baths after games in Phoenix during his mid-30s, to accelerate recovery.

Steve Kerr, then general manager of the Suns and now head coach of the Warriors, figures Curry can use Nash as a blueprint in the years ahead.

“I saw Steve buy probably three extra years of All-Star-level play, based on the way he took care of his body,” Kerr said of Nash. “That’s what it’s going to take for Steph — that level of commitment, nutrition and some luck.”

Curry, by all accounts, is diligent about his conditioning. He works with personal trainer Brandon Payne in the offseason to maintain quickness, agility and strength.

Payne said Curry’s “power output” — how quickly he lifts something from Point A to Point B — is still increasing, as is his linear speed. This suggests he hasn’t yet reached his peak physically.

“Steph is a young 30,” Payne said. “He’s still on an upward trajectory physically. He still has a long way to go before he maxes out.”

Even after Nash’s physical skills began to diminish, he remained productive by leaning on his basketball smarts. Curry could use similar shrewdness — and otherworldly three-point shooting — to extend his career into his late 30s, if he so desires.

“If he still loves the game, and he devotes time to prepare and recover, he can play until he’s 40,” Nash said. “Can he stay at this level? Close. Maybe not this level, but he can stay at an All-Star level until he’s 38, 39, 40. I wouldn’t put anything past him.”

Ron Kroichick has worked at the San Francisco Chronicle since 1995, when he came from the Sacramento Bee. He is the paper’s golf columnist, covering the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, all major championships in Northern California (including the 2019 U.S. Open at Pebble Beach) and writing a weekly column on the game’s personalities and trends. He also writes features on the Warriors during NBA season, and on various other topics – ranging from major-league baseball and the NFL to college football and basketball – the rest of the year.